OpenELA Releases Enterprise Linux Source Code
With Red Hat restricting the source for RHEL, it was only a matter of time before those who depended on that source struck out on their own.
OpenELA was formed by CIQ (the company behind Rocky Linux), Oracle, and SUSE with a singular purpose, "...the development of distributions compatible with Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) by providing open and free enterprise Linux source code."
That time has arrived and the initial release of the OpenELA source code is now available.
But why is this happening? According to CIQ, "The decision to establish OpenELA wasn't made in isolation. It was a direct answer to the challenges posed by Red Hat's recent policy shifts. At CIQ, we've always believed in the power of collaboration and open access."
The site continues, "By teaming up with Oracle and SUSE, we’ll be able to provide the community with the tools, resources, and most importantly, the source code they need through OpenELA. With OpenELA, both upstream and downstream communities can fully leverage the potential of open source, from independent upstream projects through the delivery of compatible and standards-based Enterprise Linux derivatives."
The code (found on the OpenELA GitHub page linked above) contains all of the basic packages for building an Enterprise Linux OS. Keep in mind, however, that the code is still very much a work in progress and some of the code has yet to be made public (due to the OpenELA continued removal of all Red Hat branding/trademarks).
At the moment, both Oracle and SUSE are planning on releasing their enterprise distributions based on OpenELA and the Rocky Linux Software Foundation is considering the same.
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